Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
by Moofy-Fan
Summary: Getting an anima requires trauma, but that doesn't mean that it has to stop once the immediate danger is gone.  Series of four oneshots showing snippets of the characters lives from between when they received their animas and met each other.
1. Focusing on the Denial

Hey people. I should be writing the next chapter in one of my many ongoing fics. Actually, I should be doing homework, or looking at colleges, or any multitude of other, much more important things. This is stress writing though, so I'm just going to let it work it's way through my course. Can't promise it'll be all that good because of that, but hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of my self-therapy.

This is probably going to be a four part little series, with a chapter for each of the main four. I was originally just going to do Husky, but as I wrote this I though it might be interesting to see some of how the others lived in between they'd gotten their animas and met up with the gang.

Focusing on the Denial

Myrrha didn't know what to do. He'd stopped trying to break the small container he was in over an hour ago. His hands were still raw from the constant banging and scratching he'd done, and the water stung at all the fresh sores. He couldn't see a thing, and could barely move, his body curled up in on itself now as he tried desperately to fight off the increasing claustrophobia.

He didn't like being trapped. It kept bringing him back to those tunnels that he'd wandered through aimlessly for almost three days. He'd really thought he was going to die there, and couldn't help but wonder if he'd end up facing that fate locked in a clay jar instead.

When the lid was finally pulled off the top, he didn't even acknowledge it at first, until the voices started to hit him under the water. Slowly, his body still aching all over, he started to turn himself into a fit position to pull himself out of the case. Once he broke the surface, he caught sight of a man he had never seen before, as well as the one who'd stuffed him into that jar in the first place.

"I don't believe it, a genuine mermaid…" the man he'd never seen before said in astonishment, and Myrrha just stared at him blankly, looking like he didn't even understand the words he was saying. The boy still had no idea what country he was even in, but a sinking feeling told him that it didn't really matter. The whole reason he'd decided to run so far away was happening anyway, and his brain was still too shocked to do anything about it.

"So I take it you're interested?" the fisherman who'd caught him asked, and the other nodded feverishly. The silver boy's arms were sore from his attempts at escaping, and reluctantly he allowed himself to sink back into the jar just slightly, still keeping his head above the water to give them a break.

"Of course, of course. Can it speak?" the man asked, and the fisherman shrugged slightly, glancing over at him.

"I don't know, it hasn't said a word since I'd caught it," he answered, and both looked towards Myrrha expectantly, wondering if he would say anything. The boy didn't make any movement to show that he'd even heard them, let alone would answer. He just stared ahead blankly, not even noticing that he'd been called an it.

"Hm, well, either way, it'll make an excellent addition. Bring it inside," the man said, and the fisherman nodded excitedly before turning back towards Myrrha, the lid to the jar in his hands. The fish boy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the thought of being forced back inside that tiny, dark place, and started trying to pull himself out of the water.

"Oh no you don't! You're not trying to escape again!" the fisherman yelled, trying to push Myrrha's head down underneath the surface. Panic instantly filled him at the attempt at being held underwater again, and he started struggling with all of his might. The silver boy kept fighting in clear desperation and fear, eventually ending up biting the man's hand. Hard.

He heard the fisherman scream, and the last thing he felt was the heavy clay lid slamming into the back of his head, effectively knocking the small boy out cold.

When he woke up, he wasn't sure how much later it was, but found himself still inside the large pot. The lid was off again though, but there was a searing pain starting in the back of his head where he'd been his. Pulling himself up, he saw with relief that the fisherman was gone, but the other man was still here. He didn't know really where 'here' was though, a strange little room, and it was only the two of them.

"Ah, it's good to see you've woken up, my mermaid. I don't know if you can understand me, but you're going to help me out quite a bit," the man said, and Myrrha didn't respond, ignoring being called a mermaid, and instead just looking about the room. The man kept talking, introducing himself as the ringmaster of a circus, and that he was going to be a star attraction, and all these things that the silver boy really didn't care about. No, he didn't pay any attention to any of those things, the only emotion on his face coming at his own discovery, when a small gasp escaped his lips, and he spoke for the first time in days.

"Earrings…" he said quietly, his hand rubbing the spot on his ear that used to have a small sapphire gem attached to it. Despite being barely above a whisper, it caused the ringmaster to stop right in the middle of his sentence and turn all of his previous scattered attention to the young boy.

"You _can_ speak," he said in near astonishment, and Myrrha just nodded, a bit of his senses starting to return at his recent revelation. He had to get a hold of himself. He couldn't just do whatever this man wanted without any sort of fight.

"Where are they?" he asked, trying to ignore how positively pathetic he sounded. The ringmaster just stared at him, confusion clear on his face, and Myrrha decided to continue. He had obviously not actually heard what he'd said the first time around, but had just heard him saying something. "Where are my earrings?" He asked again, not entirely sure why he was so focused on that little fact with everything else that was happening to him.

If he just focused on the earrings, he could block the rest out, and pretend it wasn't happening. He just had to concentrate on something, anything, but what was really happening.

"Oh, those. I put them in a safe place, don't worry. If you're good and do as I say, then I might give them back to you," the ringmaster said, and Myrrha was silent after that. Of course, this man was smarter than he looked. He wanted to make sure he had something to hold over his head to keep him here, and those had been the only thing on him that he could of taken. Even understanding the motive, it didn't change the absolute fury that the silver boy let seep through his body at the action. It had to be anger, he couldn't let himself get upset or in despair.

"Well then, now that we know you can speak, why don't you tell me your name, mermaid?" the ringmaster asked, and Myrrha allowed the anger from his stolen possession to quickly transfer over to the mistake the mustached man had been making all night.

"Boy," he nearly growled, causing the ringmaster to once again stare at him in confusion, apparently not understanding what he meant.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"Boy. I am a boy, not a mermaid. A boy," he repeated, venom dripping from his every word. A clear expression of surprise passed over the older man's face, although he quickly tried to hide it and recover, nodding. Myrrha just ignored him, thinking about attempting to leave the water jug again. He really didn't want to get smashed in the head with a lid a second time though, and decided to wait just a little bit longer.

"Oh of course," the man said, coughing slightly. Myrrha just rolled his eyes, still trying to block out the severity of his situation. There had to be a way out if he just waited and played along for a bit. He just needed to get his earrings back, then he could make a run for it. He had no idea where he'd go after that, but anything had to be better than whatever form of slavery or mermaid show he was going to be forced into.

"Well, as I was saying, what is your name, boy?" he asked again, and Myrrha tried to not let the ringmaster see him freeze up. He still didn't know what country he was in, and even if he wasn't in Sailand anymore, his name was obviously foreign. He didn't want any more attention drawn to him than necessary.

He wasn't sure what made him think of the fake name, but it was already something he was used to being called anyway. It wasn't like it really mattered, he didn't care what this man called him, as long as it didn't hurt him in the long run, whatever that was going to be.

"Husky," he said quietly, and the ringmaster just nodded. Myrrha could already tell he wasn't being quite as nice to him once he found out he wasn't a true 'mermaid' but he could really care less. He just had to focus on the now, and figure out a way to get away. "Can I come out of here now?" he asked, once again surprising the older man. He gladly welcomed the irritation it caused. If he was angry, he could forget about how sore his body was, and how badly his hands and head still stung from his previous attempts at escape.

"Out? But you're part fish," the man said skeptically, and Myrrha just sighed. Bracing himself for the pain in his arms and hands so that the ringmaster wouldn't see it, he pulled himself out of the jug and allowed for the fish like tail to melt away into a pair of human legs. He was still wearing the outfit from when he'd escaped, but it was so worn now, it was almost impossible to tell what it was suppose to look like originally, let alone that it was of a foreign dress.

"I'm a fish anima," the boy explained calmly, trying to block out anything that might stir up unwanted memories. "not a mermaid. They're people with the power of animals, and we aren't stuck in just one form," he finished, the ringmaster watching his every move as he lowered himself from the clay pot before sitting on the floor in front of it and glaring up at the ringmaster on the other side of the room. If he didn't know this, then he probably wasn't in Sailand, so slavery is illegal. It didn't seem to make much difference though, seeing as he still couldn't leave without his earrings.

"I see…" the man said, obviously thinking of new ways to use the boy in his little circus sideshow. A large smile flashed across the man's face, and he walked over to place a hand on the small child's shoulder. "Well, I think that-" the ringmaster was sharply cut off when he managed to actually touch the child, who almost instantly pulled back from the touch, much too close to his neck for his liking, and slammed straight into the clay jug. The force caused the jar to wobble until it toppled over, shattering into huge shards and spilling water everywhere.

The silver child squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of the huge crash before trying to block out the mumbled curses from the now angered ringmaster.

"Why you little… Clean it up, and don't even think about trying to run away, I have guards on the lookout," the old man demanded, and Myrrha just opened his eyes to glare at the man. He didn't seem to care though, simply scowling to himself before starting to walk out of the small, wet and pottery shard filled room.

"A fish anima or whatever you called it, I don't really care what the correct term is. You'll make a perfect mermaid, and that's what you'll play," he growled. Myrrha simply turned away from his retreating form and started to carefully pick up the larger pieces of his smashed container, ignoring the continued mumblings about a perfect mermaid princess.

Once he was alone, Myrrha tried to think of where that stupid ringmaster could have hidden his earrings. He wasn't even really sure where he was at the moment though, and he had said there were guards. It wouldn't be worth it to try and sneak around just to get caught and punished. He'd eventually be shown the layout of the circus, and then he could work on an escape plan.

The silver boy hissed as one of the shards cut into his hand, his mind having wandered slightly as he cleaned. Sticking the cut in his mouth, he glared at the pile of wet clay pieces that he'd already picked up. Using his good hand, he grabbed some sort of stuffed animal lying off to the side of the room, why he didn't know, and began pushing the rest into the pile. The water was still everywhere, but the ringmaster hadn't given him anything to clean that up with, and he'd specifically told him not to leave.

Pulling his hand away, he stared at the cut. It wasn't bleeding as bad, and the silver boy sighed before leaning against one of the walls. There wasn't exactly a bed or anything in there, but he pulled over another one of the stuffed animals to use as a makeshift pillow. It was definitely better than anything he'd been using recently.

Frowning, he tried to push any of those thoughts from his mind. He had to focus on the future now, no time to drabble in the past. Not if he wanted to keep himself from spiraling into some sort of deep depression, that is.

It'd be fine. It couldn't be that hard to escape from a bunch of circus freaks. He just had to get his earrings and make a run for it, it would be easy.

Slowly, the silver boy started to fall asleep. His head and hands were still throbbing, and his entire body ached, the hard wooden floor doing absolutely nothing to help that. He simply pushed all of that from his thoughts, not letting himself get sucked into his own mind. It was confusing and terrified in there, and he couldn't let others see that, even if he was alone.

That night, the child now known as Husky awoke, wide eyed and terrified as the events that had brought him there replayed in his head over and over again. It wouldn't be the last time, and it certainly wasn't the first.

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><p>Hurray, finished. I hope you liked this. Like I said before, probably going to do a chapter for each of the others, even though I really shouldn't with everything else I have to do. Ah well, I'll get it all done eventually, and I really needed something to help me relax. Yes, writing about children in high anxiety situations helps me relax. Go figure.<p>

Thanks for reading, reviews are very much appreciated.


	2. Living In The Dark

Hello everyone. Decided to finally get around to writing the second installment of this. Who do we have to mentally torture this time around? Why, Nana of course. I actually very purposefully didn't do Cooro, even though I have his chapter mostly planned out as well. Why? Well, Cooro and Husky always get all of my attention, the other half of their little group deserves it as well.

Haha, anyway, here's Nana's chapter.

Living in the Dark

A small brunette girl panted in exhaustion as she made her way into town, nightfall having pretty much already fallen. It sure was hard, trying to go places, alone no less, and get there before the night set in. She almost hadn't been able to this time, and had felt the relief rush into her once she'd finally spotted the large town and ran as fast as she could until she reached its edge. She wasn't sure how far away she was from the small old farm she used to call her home, but this was at least two towns away, if she hadn't missed any as she escaped, which she probably had.

Shaking her head, the girl known as Nana tried to push any thoughts about the life she'd recently left out of her mind. She'd managed to reach the town, Octopus, she was almost positive it was called, and that was all that mattered.

Walking around after dusk, she couldn't help but be impressed by how large the town actually was. She'd never been in a place quite like this before, but hopefully the size would only increase the chances of her being able to find a place to stay for the night. So far though, she'd yet to find anything, and staying out late in an unfamiliar city was only slightly better than staying out in the dark forest.

After what felt like maybe an hour or so Nana stumbled across an opening. She couldn't really tell where it led, but it was a covered area at the least, and no one else seemed to be inside. Exhausted from traveling aimlessly for the entire day and not feeling safe sleeping out in the open at all, she decided to take a chance and head down to wherever it would take her. She could try to find someplace better to stay in the morning.

Slowly, she started to look for a place where she could curl up and sleep. It was dark, a combination of the fact that it was night, and that she was underground. Hesitantly, she considered letting the bat like appendages, the anima she still wasn't really used to yet, help her make her way around the area. Before she completely decided, a soft glow began to radiate around the area, and the brunette sighed in relief at the strange mushrooms that were now lighting her path. She still wasn't able to see much, but it was better than the complete blackness that had been there before.

Going a bit farther in, she wasn't sure exactly how much longer she should walk before stopping. She wanted to be able to find her way back out in the morning, after all, and from what she could see, the crossing paths and run down sections seemed to make the area quite confusing.

Picking a spot that seemed like no one on the outside would find her, but she could still make her way back when she wanted, Nana curled up against one of the crumbling walls and attempted to fall asleep. With how far she'd managed to travel and the late hour of day, it didn't take the girl very long at all.

In the morning, she could hear murmurs around her before she actually opened her eyes, and tried not to panic. Slowly, she peaked one eye open slightly to see who it was that found her, and relaxed slightly at the sight of a couple of slightly older girls standing a few feet away. Opening both eyes completely now, she watched them and tried to figure out what they were saying. It was almost certainly about her; she couldn't think of any other reason for them to be whispering over there.

It wasn't long before one of the girls noticed she was awake and watching them, and quickly notified the other two. Before Nana was able to stand up or say anything, the three were walking over to her, but they didn't look angry or threatening. Actually, they were smiling, but Nana wasn't too sure on whether or not she should smile back yet.

"Hey there. I'm Delly, what's your name?" the oldest of the three girls asked, and the brunette quickly stood up and tried to brush the dirt off of her dress the best she could before answering.

"Nana. Um, I'm sorry, I didn't know there was anyone else down here," she apologized, but the other three quickly shook their heads. The one who'd introduced herself as Delly started talking, and Nana quickly decided from the looks of it that she was probably the leader.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have a home, do you?" the older girl asked, and slowly Nana shook her head. So far, they were being nice to her, so there wasn't really any point in lying yet. Delly just flashed a smile at her before continuing. "Why don't you come back with us then?" she suggested, and Nana felt her eyes widening in disbelief.

"W-what?" the green eyed girl asked skeptically, not believing that someone would just offer her a chance to stay with them out of the blue. It really would be too good to be true, even more so when considering everything that had happened to the poor girl recently.

"None of us really have any home or family to go back to either, so we get what it's like. Really, it's nothing spectacular, but it's better than nothing. What do you say?" Delly asked again, and the brunette almost instantly nodded. She really couldn't believe this, and listened intensively as they started explaining a few more things on the way to their main living area. The other two girls introduced themselves as Rim and Erica, and they told her that there were only girls living there. Something about boys being too aggressive, and Nana didn't complain. It wasn't really that she had anything against boys herself, but it probably would be simpler living with just girls.

When the four reached their makeshift house, Nana was introduced to all of the other girls. There was about eight in total, not including her, and the brunette couldn't stop smiling the entire time. It still didn't seem possible that she could have just stumbled upon a place where she could actually live and not run around attempting to hide from the past so quickly, if at all.

The next few weeks Nana managed to get into a comfortable schedule. The other girls showed her the ways around the city, as well as where she could and couldn't go underground. The brunette attempted to help with their only real source of income, but she wasn't really all that good of a pit pocket. Every time she'd mess up, the same thought came to her, but she'd quickly dismiss it. She just didn't know how the others would react if they found out.

Really, everything seemed perfect. Well, not perfect, she was still living underground, in poor conditions and having to steal for a living, but like Delly had said on her first day there, it was better than nothing.

It was about three weeks since she's started living with them, and they were walking along one of the less used parts of the underground city. It was important to keep up on the state of the area around them, to make sure exactly what parts were still safe and if any of the dangerous animals that lived down there had decided to spread out their territories. Nana carefully watched how the other girls made their way across the thin board that stretched across one of the many practically bottomless passages. They'd taken her along to help and show her a few more of the places she hadn't been able to see yet, and slowly made her way after the others.

"Be careful, some of these parts are really brittle," the older girl called out to her, and Nana just nodded as she stared at the ground in front of her.

"I will!" she called back, now about halfway across the passage. She was almost to the end when she felt some of the stone crumbling under her foot, and the panic instantly started to fill her as she lost her balance. She could hear the others screaming her name as she went over the edge, but didn't pay any attention to them or the rest of her surroundings as the wings she'd only used once or twice since that faithful night in the forest sprung instinctively from her back. There wasn't any thinking involved. She needed to fly to live, and she went as fast as she could before practically collapsing onto the solid ground.

The young girl tried to get a hold of herself as she sat panting on the ground, not noticing that her wings and ears were still transformed, or that the others were staring at her in complete shock. Instead, she just kept repeating inside her head that she was okay. She was still alive; it was fine.

"W-what the?" it was only then did Nana realize what had just happened, and her head shot up to look at the other three. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. They all looked terrified, and yet she was too scared now, although for different reasons then what they were a moment ago, to focus enough and retract her anima. Slowly she started to try and form sentences.

"I-I'm an anima. I mean…" she fumbled desperately, although the way they continued to stare at her in fear wasn't encouraging in the slightest. She quickly managed to scramble to her feet and attempt to dust herself off, very similar to how she had on the first day she'd met them. Her mind was whirling with some way to make them not hate her, to not want to kick her out.

"I can help better this way!" she blurted out, "It's easier for me to move around these areas like this, and it's not as dangerous," the brunette finished, and slowly Delly started nodding slightly.

"Y-yeah, I guess you can…" she mumbled after a while, and Nana sighed in relief that she wasn't instantly attacked or something like that. She still sounded suspicious, and Erica and Rim didn't look like they trusted her at all anymore, but maybe if she could prove her worth they would change their minds… She could only hope.

Without another word, all four started heading back, and Nana finally managed to get up enough sense to draw her anima back inside. It was silent the entire way, but somehow Nana managed to keep herself from crying until she was completely alone again. How could her second chance at a semi-normal life change so quickly?

The next two weeks felt rigid and tense. It just didn't seem fair. Even when Nana tried to explained to them exactly what an anima was, it was obvious that they didn't really understand, referring to the ultrasonic screech the young girl had taken to using to increase her pick pocketing skills as magic and other such things.

Each glare and excuse to avoid her sent Nana's self confidence plummeting, and it wasn't even two weeks since she was found out before she was packing what little possessions she had as fast as she possibly could. None of the other girls were in the room with her, and no one asked where she was going as she practically ran out of the makeshift home. She just couldn't stand to live there if she was being hated. She didn't want something to happen like last time.

She shook her head as she let the wings that had gotten her into this mess unfurl behind her, and attempted to hold back any stray tears. She was already upset, there wasn't any way she was going to let herself start thinking about that.

Flying through the underground maze, the brunette realized that she really didn't have anywhere else to go. She'd been traveling by herself before out of absolute necessity before, and even then she hadn't gone very far.

It was some time later when the young girl found herself inside of a cave, hidden beyond an underground lake. It was much creepier than where the others were living, but they wouldn't be able to get to her here. Plus, she was a bat after all, it was only fitting for her to live in a cave.

Wiping her eyes of the few tears that had managed to escape, she started to unpack her things and set up a few jars of those strange glowing mushrooms to light up the place slightly. When she was done, she tried to smile at the little home she created for herself, but it felt anything but genuine.

She wondered slightly if she should explain to the others that she wasn't going to be living with them anymore, but ultimately decided against it. They'd probably just take it as her being tired of staying with them, when that wasn't the case at all. She wished they'd never seen her horrendous wings and ears, but there wasn't any changing what had happened now.

Looking around, it didn't seem like she would ever be able to come out of the darkness, completely at least. Sure, she could go above ground as much as she wanted, but it seemed like she'd always end up crawling back below the surface like an animal. Once again, it seemed fitting, but she still didn't like it one bit. She hadn't wanted any of this, and it really wasn't fair.

There wasn't anything she could do though, except for sit in the dark and pretend that it wasn't that bad. She'd gotten very good at pretending things weren't as bad as they were over the course of her short life, and as long as nothing extreme happened, nothing like last time, then she would be fine.

* * *

><p>And Nana's chapter is completed. I'm not too used to writing solely about her yet, so I hoped this turned out okay. I'm even less comfortable with writing Delly and the others, so they probably didn't get as much focus as they should have. Oh, happy 1111/11 everyone, and as always please review and tell me what you think.


	3. Fighting through the Fog

It's alive! Haha, you all thought I forgot about this little thing, didn't you? I do actually plan to finish this though, and now it'll be only one more chapter before that's accomplished. Hopefully it won't take me another year to do that one too…

Anyway, here's Senri's very long awaited chapter.

Fighting through the Fog

Senri sat on the fields on the outskirts of his tribe's settling in silence, staring off at absolutely nothing with his one good eye. Occasionally others walking by would glance over at the young boy, but no one made any move to try to talk to him or get him to do anything. He'd been almost completely unresponsive since the incident with Amurui a month ago that had ended in his father's death and his gaining a +anima. No matter how much they tried, they couldn't get through to him.

"Senri, it's time to eat," an older man named Upas called, causing Senri to slowly stand up and follow him back towards the main part of their village. None of his movements seemed to really be under his actual control though, his body simply listening to other's commands at this point.

When he was back in his home they had to place the bowl and food into his hands before the boy would actually start to eat, as if he couldn't even remember how to do that. No one would quite admit just how taxing it was to have to look after and guide the unresponsive child though. It was something that they had to become accustom to.

There had been practically no signs of improvement over the past month at all, and it had quickly become apparent that this wasn't something that could be fixed. Tragically, it seemed that even though his body was technically alive, Amurui had still managed to kill the sweet child that the rest of his tribe and family remembered.

Just as he had to be every night, Senri was led into his room by his mother and put into bed before she herself could get ready for the night. It seemed that the very second the child was laid down he had fallen to sleep, as if a switch had been flipped in his head.

Unlike every other night though, Senri wasn't woken up in the morning by his mother telling him it was time to eat again. Instead, the sounds of high pitch screams and frantic, barking orders knocked the grey haired boy awake.

Despite the panic he could hear going on outside of his room and house, the child didn't do anything but sit up in bed for a few moments as his brain feverishly tried to figure out what it should be doing. The haze in his brain wasn't letting him form any concrete thoughts though. All he knew was that something strange was going on, but no one was here to tell him what he was supposed to do.

Slowly, Senri actually pushed himself out of his bed and began to get dressed like that woman had him do every normal day, his body starting to run on autopilot at first. Once he was finished he walked out of his room, only to stop in uncertainty at what he saw out there.

Even though he couldn't quite remember what the house looked like normally, he knew that it hadn't been like this. There was light everywhere, even though the sun wasn't shining in through the windows, and it was hot. The brightness was crawling up the walls and around the furniture, leaving black char in it's wake.

Fire. That's what that stuff was called. It took him a moment to realize that, but managed to know to stay away from it afterwards as he made his way out of the burning building. The smoke quickly filling up the area caused him to cough, but he barely even registered that. He just needed to go out so that he could find…something. Or someone. Someone who could tell him what he was supposed to be doing now.

Once he made it outside however, it didn't seem like there was really anyone who had the time to be bothered with him. Many of the other buildings were engulfed with that burning hot fire, although no one seemed very concerned with actually trying to put it out. Instead, everyone was running away frantically.

Senri simply watched them for a moment, not entirely sure who he should follow. No one looked familiar, but that was something he was starting to get used to. Or at least, he was forgetting that there was anything strange about that at all. He'd simply trust whichever person decided to try to talk to them in the moment they did it, forgetting about the situation in the haze of his mind immediately afterwards.

There wasn't anyone to lead him away right now though, and the fire was making him uncomfortably hot as it continued to quickly spread, practically engulfing the entire house behind him. Picking a direction at random, he started away from the burning buildings.

His mind was still completely enveloped in its normal fog, but for once he was actually moving of his own accord, instead of by the command of someone else. Even if the only thought able to make it through the haze was a simple 'get away from the fires.'

He'd nearly made it out of the center of their village, the fire having spread over most of the buildings by now when something grabbed at him. The boy felt his arms get pulled behind his back, whoever it was holding him pushing the child forcefully to his knees.

Senri's working eye widened in his surprise, and he instinctively started trying to jerk out of the tight grip. The person holding him didn't let go at all, and an actual emotion started coursing throughout the boy for the first time in over a month now. Fear.

The second that registered in his mind he started attempted to struggle out of his capture's grip even more. Despite the continued fight from the child he could feel something quickly and effectively being wound around his hands, locking them in place and preventing him from begin able to go anywhere. This only caused his fear to increase even more though, doubling the boy's struggle once again. When even that didn't work, his brain just seemed to turn off once again, like the flick of a switch.

The man who tied up the young boy instantly jumped back when something strange began to happen. Brown fur was now running down both of his bound arms, his fingers having changed into huge, sharp claws. The child got to his feet, spinning around to face him. His teeth had transformed as well, large fangs bared as he growled at the man. There was a manic look in his single uncovered eye, although he didn't actually seem able to focus on anything.

The beast child began flailing around, simultaneously attempting to attack him and free himself from his bindings. Very quickly the man managed to get behind the child once again, trying to stay out of the way of his teeth and claws. Grabbing the boy, he effectively slammed his head to the ground, knocking him out cold. Thankfully, all of his bear-like features melted away once the boy lost consciousness.

When Senri awoke later, he was still tied up, trapped in the back of some cart with several others. The fear and panic that had forced him to think, even if just a tiny bit, for himself was forgotten, and he simply stared blankly at the terrified and bound people stuffed around him.

The large cart stopped several times, and each time the people leading them away from their homes became increasingly more frustrated with having to deal with the unresponsive child, not wanting to put up with giving the boy the extra care.

The other Kim-un-kur's hesitantly attempted to explain his condition, not that the slavers actually cared. Of course, Senri didn't seem to notice anything amiss at all, slowly eating the small portions of food that was handed out among them as he stared out at the desert landscape he'd never seen before.

Not that he even realized he'd never seen anything like it before.

Slowly as they went from town to town, the amount of people who were stuffed in the back of the large cart became less and less. Senri didn't notice at all though, once someone didn't get back onto the cart, their presence eradicated from his mind as if they had never even existed at all.

It wasn't very long before the small bear +anima was the only one left in the cart, sitting back there in silence. The slavers that had captured him had long since realized that there was absolutely no need to actually bind up this child. They doubted he could think of anything at all, let alone the concept of an escape plan.

The grumbled curses of the trader's reached him one day after… he couldn't remember what he'd been doing before, but it probably didn't matter.

"That Kim-un-kur brat will never freaking sell! No one in their right mind will buy him!" one of them yelled, his frustration with the whole situation clear. Senri didn't really understand what they were talking about though, simply staring back and forth between the two as the spoke.

"Knock down the price again. We'll just be lucky if we get anything for him at this point. God damn useless brat," the other man practically growled, sneering at Senri afterwards. As normal, Senri didn't say anything when one of them placed a small sign around his neck and began to lead him out of the sale's hut they'd been in.

He was commanded to stay here, placed next to several pots and other goods in the middle of a busy sales area. The child simply stared off at nothing as he did as he was told. Even still he quickly forgot about the command all together, but he didn't actually have any reason to move on his own anyway.

The next thing he realized one of the two men had a hand on his shoulder and was talking excitedly to a blonde haired woman in front of him. Senri didn't focus much on the woman though, instead just staying silent throughout the whole exchange. Soon though, the small sign that had been around his neck was taken off, something else replacing it instead.

Senri touched the strip of leather now locked loosely around his neck curiously, a small circle of metal hanging off of the front. He could feel a design on the front of the metal, but wasn't able to look down to see what it actually was. He lowered his hands after a moment though, not finding anything else really interesting about it.

As it normally did, the dense fog in his mind didn't really let him concentrate on anything going on around him as the blonde woman changed his clothes for him. Somehow though, the haze managed to lift from his mind just slightly enough for him to actually hear and process a question she directed at the boy.

"It's all right little one. Now, what's your name?" she asked, and Senri frowned slightly as he tried to remember the answer her question. It took a few moments for him to finally figure it out, but he did.

"Senri," the boy said quietly. The woman smiled softly at him, although Senri wasn't quite sure why. Something about her seemed nice though, although the haze didn't really let him know what made him think that.

"Senri, I am Crystala. I'm very pleased to meet you," she said softly. It didn't quite cause the unresponsive boy to smile, but that had been the first time he'd truly spoken since becoming a +anima.

The fog was just as thick as it always was, but something inside of him felt that something had changed. He didn't know what, but it was something.

Somehow, he found himself hoping that the change was a good thing, even if he couldn't remember how his life had been before.

* * *

><p>Tadaa. Gosh, Senri is really hard to write, especially since he's even more out of it now than he is in the actual books. He just never knows what's actually going on, and that's had to get across coherently. I do hope you all liked this though. Like I said before, it was vastly overdue. Cooro shouldn't take that long though, so that's a good thing.<p>

Well, as always thanks for reading and please review.


	4. Growing out of Ignorance

Hello everyone. So, this little series started out as a product of stress/therapy writing, so I guess it's only fitting that it ends the same way. Really, really sad right now, since we had to put my dog to sleep. As a result, this might also be a little bit depressing. Ah well, writing helps me feel better, a good distraction, you know? So at least there's that.

Anyway, here's the final part of the series, Cooro's chapter. Hope you all like it.

Growing out of Ignorance

Cooro practically skipped down the halls of the research facility. He'd been living there for a few months now, after Fly had come and taken him from the church. Right now, Fly wanted to see him, another check up to make sure that his anima and everything else 'special' about him was still as fine as it ever was.

The black haired boy didn't know why Fly always seemed so concerned about the state of his anima, but he didn't particularly mind the check ups. They hadn't had to give him anymore shots after the first time, and that was the only bad thing about them. Fly just wanted to make sure he didn't ever hurt his wings with all of the flying around he did and such.

His mind started to wander to a promise he'd made to the man when he was little, a clear reason for why Fly would be so concerned, but Cooro quickly pushed any of those thoughts to the back of his mind. He wouldn't have to go through with that promise for a long time, so there was no need to be worrying about it right now. Besides, Fly might not even make him go through with it, now that he knew about the other special talent the crow +anima had.

"Ah, good morning Cooro, could you bring your wings out for me?" Fly asked as the child came into the room. Cooro quickly nodded, dark black wings instantly unfurling behind him, matching feathers proceeding to run down each of his arms as well. A large smile had made its way onto the boy's face as he used his wings to flutter up and sit on the table next to Fly.

"G'morning! How's Emory doing? Can I see him again later today?" Cooro asked excitedly. He really hoped that he could. Emory was, well, he guessed you could say the first product of Fly having found out that he could sense the presence of a +anima. He was also the first other +anima Cooro could say was his friend.

Fly had told him to try to go out and find a +anima and see if he could bring him back to the research facility. It really had been easy, since there were actually a lot more +anima in Aster than Fly thought. Emory had been really nice as well, and didn't mind coming with him at all. He actually seemed really excited about it. The other boy had heard about the facility, and turned out to be really interested in finding out just what they did with the +anima there. He was a weasel +anima, and only a few years older than Cooro himself.

The black haired boy wasn't entirely sure why Fly had wanted him to bring a +anima back to the facility, but he figured it was both to make sure he wasn't lying about his ability, and to offer any +anima he found the chance to help out in the facility. They were always looking for more +anima to help expand everything they knew, and although Cooro didn't really care much about the science side of things, he knew that they were trying their best to make life better for the anima.

Fly had told him about how most +anima tended to hide who they were though, so it was hard to find them. That was why his ability was so special though, and the black winged boy was close to ecstatic that he could be able to help out so much.

Much to Cooro's disappointment though, Fly started shaking his head as he began combing over his wings.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid he'll be busy all day today, but maybe you can see him a bit later in the week. I'm sure he'd want to see you again," the young man told him, and Cooro simply nodded. He guessed that was fine, if Emory was going to help out with the research facility, he guessed there was a lot of stuff they had to show him first, before he could play with him again.

It had been the same when Cooro had first came, there was so many new things he'd never seen or heard of before. He was still getting used to a few things, and didn't quite understand what everybody around him was talking about most of the time. That was fine though, since most of the people seemed nice enough, and it wasn't like they were doing anything bad.

Overall, the check up hadn't lasted very long, and Cooro was allowed to go do whatever he pleased after about a half hour.

At first, the young child had gone outside to find something to play with. Maybe he could try to find more +anima to bring back to the facility? Fly would probably really like that, after all. Of course, Fly would also probably get upset if he left without letting him know first.

Quickly making up his mind, Cooro went back into the main building to try to find the young man. When he went back to the checkup room though, he wasn't there. Frowning, the crow +anima tried to think of where he might have gone.

Oh! That was it! He was probably showing Emory around the facility and explaining all sorts of neat stuff to him. Smiling brightly, Cooro attempted to focus and find the weasel +anima's aura.

Giggling in excitement, Cooro allowed his wings to come out when he was almost certain he had the right presence. Starting down the hallway, no one bothered to try to stop the flying boy as he effortlessly swerved past researchers and other people working and studying there.

Once he was almost where the aura had led him, Cooro allowed himself to land back on the ground, although he didn't bother to pull his wings back in. This was a part of the facility he'd only been in once before, but it didn't register in the boy's mind just what exactly the rooms he was passing were used for. The surgical removal and implantation of animas.

"No!" Cooro jolted to a halt at the panicked scream, hand hovering above the doorknob to the room where he was positive Emory now was. It wasn't just his sixth sense telling him this anymore however, no. That had been the older boy's voice, without a doubt.

Smile slowly falling from his face, Cooro allowed his hand to drop, pressing his ear up against the door in order to listen in instead.

He knew eavesdropping was bad, but something just felt really wrong all of a sudden.

"No! I said stop it! Let me go! I don't want to give it up!" Emory continued to yell, only further confusing the boy on the other side of the door. What didn't he want to give up? Giving into his growing curiosity, Cooro slowly opened the door just enough so that he could peak inside.

Emory was halfway strapped to a table, several men struggling to finish the job. The boy kept attempting to furiously twist out of their grasp though, his anima out to help him fight. One of the researcher put his hand a bit too close to his face in an attempt to push him back down, which the weasel +anima quickly took the chance to bite down on, hard.

It was then that Cooro noticed he was right, Fly _was_ with Emory. The young scientist took the opportunity while he was distracted to inject something into the boy's arm.

The second Emory noticed the shot, he let go of the other scientist and attempted to pull himself away from Fly again. He started shaking once he realized it was too late, and whatever had previously been in the syringe had been successfully injected into him.

Cooro couldn't move, having absolutely no idea what was going on. W-was he freaking out that much just because of a shot? Cooro didn't like shots either, but they weren't _that _bad.

The men had managed to push Emory so that he was lying on the table now, strapping the rest of his body down. The boy's moves were starting to become more and more sluggish, whatever had been injected into him quickly starting to run its course. There was still a clear panic in his eyes though, even as they started to cloud over slightly, changing from a sharp, clear chestnut that seemed to reflex the quick thinking, cunningness of his +anima to a dull, murky brown.

"Stop! _Please!_ You can't… you can't take my +anima!" he managed to yell, before the drugs completely knocked the poor boy out cold.

Once he was unconscious, the researchers quickly started working on the boy, Fly efficiently running the operation.

All Cooro could do was stare, shaking slightly as he watched the men cut Emory where his +anima markings were. They were all speaking to each other as they went about it, but the black winged boy didn't understand what they were saying. Too many big, science words he didn't understand. He didn't _want _to understand. Why were they forcing Emory to give up his +anima? Weren't they supposed to be helping +anima? That's what Fly had told him.

Cooro wasn't able to hold in a sharp gasp when the boy's +anima quickly lifted from his body, hovering in the air as a foggy white shadow for just a moment before disintegrating completely. The winged boy closed his eyes tightly at this. He couldn't sense the anima at all anymore. What had happened to it?

The researchers in the room all stared for a moment, before Fly sighed softly, causing Cooro to open his eyes again. The young researched turned away from Emory to quickly write something down on a clipboard off to the side.

"It looks like before wasn't just a fluke, if a +anima doesn't want to give up their anima, it will just die," the young man said, several of the others voicing their agreement. A few of them went to work on sewing up the surgical cuts on Emory, but most had seemed to completely lose interest in the boy now, Fly included.

Slowly, Cooro managed to take a few steps away from the door, before finally shooting down the hallway, running as fast as he could. He couldn't even think to fly at first, he just needed to get _away_ from all of that. It wasn't until he was outside did he manage to force his wings to unlock from their fear and fly up to the top of a building several streets down from the research facility.

Before… Fly had said _before._ T-this wasn't the first time they forced someone to get rid of their +anima! How could they do something like that? Emory had clearly loved his anima, he didn't deserve that to happen to him!

A sickening feeling of guilt washed over the boy. He… he had been the one to bring Emory to the research facility. It was his fault that they ever even got the chance to do that. He'd only been trying to help though! He didn't know… he didn't know _anything._

A few tears started leaking past the young boy's eyes, which turned into him crying for about an hour. Even after he had stopped, he just stayed up on the roof, not wanting to go anywhere. He wasn't in the mood to play anymore, and he certainly didn't want to bring back any more +anima for Fly. Emory probably hated him now. He wouldn't blame him if he did.

The sun was nearly set by the time Cooro finally forced himself to head back to the research facility. Fly would probably be mad that he'd disappeared like that.

Just as he'd thought, the researcher was standing outside, a small frown on his face when Cooro had come into sight. Taking a deep breath, he landed in front of the man, now completely unsure about what he should do. Should he tell Fly that he'd seen the operation? He might be mad, but maybe he'll tell him why they would do such a mean thing.

"Cooro, I was worried. Where had you gone off to?" Fly asked. The black haired boy hesitated just slightly before finally answering.

"I wanted to find more +anima for you, but there aren't that many in Aster, so I wasn't able to. I'm sorry," he said, surprising himself with his own lie. He never lied before. Lying was bad, all of the sisters back at the church had always taught him that.

When Fly just smiled down and nodded at him though, completely fooled by his words, a tiny bit of excitement rose up inside of the child. He was _good_ at lying.

"That's alright. I've actually been thinking about that. How would you like to expand your search a bit?" Fly asked. Cooro cocked his head to the side in innocent confusion.

"Expand? What do you mean?"

"Well, wouldn't it be fun if you went out of Aster and looked for +anima around the country instead? That way we'd be able to help all sorts of +anima, not just the ones close by," Fly explained. Slowly, Cooro started to nod, before plastering a large smile on his face.

He didn't want to bring anymore +anima back to Fly ever again if he could help it, but maybe… maybe if he just didn't come back, Fly would forget about him.

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to!" he said happily, once again feeling that strange surge of pride when Fly completely fell for his words. The tall man started leading him back inside of the facility, beginning to explain a few things about what he wanted him to do, most of which were exactly the same as when he first had him go out searching, when he brought back Emory.

"And once you come back, I'd say it'd be just about time for you to have the anima removal operation, don't you think?" Fly asked. The false smile that had been on Cooro's face instantly dropped, but luckily the young scientist hadn't actually been looking at him. The crow +anima forced himself to nod, just barely able to keep up his act.

"Of course, I did promise you, after all," he managed to say, watching as Fly smiled at his words and nodded once again.

The next day Fly had packed him a few things and enough money to last him a while as he started off to look for +anima. Cooro had made sure he was all smiles as Fly once again explained that he needed to bring a few back to help the research facility, and lied about agreeing with everything he said.

It wasn't until he had flown off, the city of Aster safely in the distance did Cooro allow the fake smile to drop from his face. He'd go out, and he'd look for +anima, but he wasn't going to bring them back to the research facility. He wasn't going to force someone else to go through what Emory had, he didn't want to be responsible for something like that ever again.

A thought came to the boy, and his frown only deepened. If lying was bad, and he was now living a lie, did that make him a bad person? He didn't want to be bad though… he only wanted to help people.

Well, if he was going to be a bad person, he'd be the nicest bad person in the world! It was the least he could do after what he'd done.

* * *

><p>And we're at the end of this little series. Overall, this was really fun to do. So I hope you all enjoyed it as well. I've actually had the idea for Cooro's for a while now, I just hadn't gotten around to writing it. I just love writing him, it's always so interesting to get into the kid's head.<p>

Well, as always thanks for reading, and please review.


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